But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him
Luke 22:51
The Lord’s action as expressed in the above verse is something that I believe may be quite challenging for many Christians and humans on the earth. Responding to wickedness with goodness? Jesus Christ healed the ear of a man who had just come in the company of soldiers to arrest Him. Humanly Challenging to do, I must say but I believe it gets better as we give the Holy Spirit a free way to empower us to respond all of the time with goodness.
My Jesus’ action in Luke 22:51 is one that stopped me in my tracks this week and it somewhat aligns with what the Lord is teaching me and dealing with me in this season. Loving and doing good regardless of what I may have been dealt with.
Before I go further, permit me to share a quick back story to the verse above. So Jesus Christ was speaking to Peter, one of his disciples who clearly loved Him so much but perhaps went about showing it the wrong way at that moment. Jesus Christ at this point was being arrested and taken away by Roman soldiers for doing nothing. And out of rage and defense of his master, Peter pulled out a sword and smote one of the men in the company of the Roman soldiers. Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10.
Before he pulled out the sword to cut off the man’s ear, the disciples, Peter included asked an essential question in my opinion. They asked Jesus, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” But they did not wait to hear the Lord’s response. The Lord wouldn’t have them fight as we can see in Luke 22:51 but it was a little too late for Peter as he already swung into action to cut off the poor man’s ear.
If I was being honest with myself, without the help of the Holy Spirit, I would probably respond with an outburst towards the Roman soldier as well. How can they come to arrest an innocent man!! Not only an innocent man but also a man that I love so deeply! I would yell and cry. Humanly speaking, that was plain wicked and uncalled for.
But yet again, the Lord’s ways are way above ours, the Lord would have us do good always, regardless of the amount of wickedness around us. We have been called to a high assignment of shining the light of Jesus at all cost, come what may. I have come to the absolute conclusion that every form of wickedness that the Lord allows to permeate through our skin is for a reason higher than we may understand at the moment. For example, Jesus’ arrest was an essential mix for our salvation. So also was Joseph’s ordeal with his wicked brothers who sold Him into slavery. God allowed it so that Joseph could go ahead to save them and the world from hunger and famine.
So how do we keep doing good and shining Jesus’ light regardless?
Spend Time in Prayer: Just before Jesus Christ came out to be arrested, the bible shows how vulnerable Jesus had become. At this point, He was somewhat weak in spirit and overwhelmed with the reality of what was about to happen to Him. If He had faced the soldiers in that state of mind, He probably would have let Peter’s action pass. But the Lord shows us what to do when we are overwhelmed with the things of this world – He spent time in prayer. He spent so much time in the place of prayer, His sweat dripped with blood. I can only imagine the anguish in His prayers as He prayed to the father – Luke 22:39-46. The bible also shows us that my Jesus was strengthened in the place of prayer by angels from heaven. Only if the Lord opened our eyes more often to see the things that happen when we pray! The whole conclusion of the matter is that there is so much power in prayer. So when overwhelmed with the wickedness around, we should cry out to the Lord, pour it all out to Him and ask Him for strength to do the right thing as He leads.
Ask the Lord Questions: Just like the disciples asked Jesus in Luke 22:51 if they should fight or perhaps hold their peace. I think it would be great if we could ask the Lord similar questions in such situations. I trust that the Lord would answer us and guide us into the truth of the matter as we ask Him.
Wait for the Lord to Respond: The more important thing after asking the Lord for direction about how to deal with a situation is to actually wait to hear His response. I have come to understand that God’s response time may vary but He is faithful to answer us when we ask Him. So while we ask Him and wait patiently to hear His response as He responded to the disciples, let us keep praying and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit.